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Grinning naughtily at my suddenly very exposed body, he lifted a hand to push the hair out of his sleepy eyes. As he did, the sunlight glinted off of that hand. Specifically, off of the ring circling his fourth finger.
At the same moment, I noticed something white lying on the nightstand behind him. It took a moment for my mind to categorize the gauzy, shapeless lump as what it was.
It was a veil.
Two rings. A veil.
“Oh, fucking hell.” The truth was inescapable.
I had woken up married. To my ex-boyfriends’ brother.
CHAPTER2
Dean
“Dean?”
Every fiber of my being wanted to continue to ogle Jillian’s gloriously naked body, which was currently bathed in flattering late morning sunlight no less, but her shell-shocked expression and trembling voice killed the mood. She had repeated my name three times now, and I was getting worried.
I reluctantly pulled my gaze upwards and met her wide hazel eyes. “You look rough. Are you feeling okay?”
“Am I okay? Are you serious? I am so far from…oh, shit.” She cut off abruptly, grabbing the nearest pillow and holding it securely in front of her naked body.
With all of the good parts hidden from view, I was able to think better. And I was starting to put two and two together. I wasn’t Ryan Gosling, but women didn’t typically leap out of bed when they woke up next to me. And they normally didn’t act like I was Freddy Krueger, either. Something was up with her, and I had a suspicion of what it was.
“I’m guessing that you don’t remember all of the finer details of our…night?”
“Uh. No.” Jillian laughed harshly. “I don’t understand how you are here. How I’m here. Howweare here. Together, like…this. Just, what the hell?”
Her stricken expression told me that she was deadly serious about the depth of her confusion. My stomach dropped. This was worse than I had feared.
“You mean, you don’t remember any of it, not even running into me?” When she frantically shook her head, I asked, “Whatisthe last thing you do remember?”
Jillian shifted and looked up at the ceiling. “Umm. I guess being at the club with Fiona and Paige. We were doing shots, and dancing. I came back from the bathroom and Paige handed me another drink. I vaguely remember sitting and talking to some people at some point. And then more dancing, I think? After that’s it really scattered. I think I remember being somewhere else for a while. Somewhere dark and quieter. Maybe. I don’t know.”
I ran my hand though my hair. This was going to be one hell of a conversation. “Alright. That’s not ideal, but we’ll deal with it. Why don’t you go get dressed, and get some water? Then we’ll talk.”
She bit her lip, looking around the room nervously. I hated how freaked out she looked, for several reasons. I hadn’t been operating at full capacity last night either, but I remembered all of the most important parts. The best parts. This was not at all how I had anticipated this morning going. Not after everything we had shared. I felt terrible for her, but I felt bad for me too.
“Jillian. Seriously. Go.”
Her desire to be in clothes won out. “I’ll only be a minute.”
I averted my gaze as she picked up her clothing once again and darted into the bathroom, closing the door soundly behind her. I heard the faucet turn on a minute later and let out a frustrated groan. If I was going to have to explain everything to Jillian, and there was a lot to cover, I was going to need to feel more human myself.
Moving like an eighty-year-old man, I located and pulled on my boxers and the dress pants I’d been wearing last night. Then I grabbed two bottles of water from the mini-fridge and a bottle of Aspirin from my bag.
When Jillian emerged a few minutes later, I was sprawled against the headboard, gratefully chugging the cool water. Wordlessly, I handed her the second bottle and the pills. She took them both and perched on the white lounge chair next to the bed. She was more put together than before but was still wearing the deer in the headlights look.
I rolled the ring between fingers absently. “So. I’m not sure where to start.”
“I know the feeling. How about, why are you in Vegas, and how did we end up…I mean, when and where did we run into each other?” Her eyes skirted the bed, and she blushed a deep red.
“That part is easy enough. I’m in town for a bachelor party. My buddy Alex is getting married at the end of the month. We got here yesterday too. We were all out last night, bar hopping, and ended up at Marquee. That was where I ran into you and your friends. I stayed and hung out with you guys for a little while, and then both of our friends went their separate ways. You and I left the club and went to a smaller bar down the street. That’s probably the ‘dark place’ you remember.”
Jillian nodded. “I’m with you so far. Kind of. Then what?” She glanced down at her own ring finger, and I knew what she was asking.
“Well. You and I talked for a few hours at the bar and had a couple of drinks. We talked about your breakup, and other things,” I answered vaguely.
